Tow bar FAQ

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[sam_w]

I believe that the bus tow bar is longer than the one for a Thing/Beetle.

Bus tow bars work on Things but not vice-versa.
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63 singlecab
73 thingster
74 Thing

[Emeritusx]

UHaul time..
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82 Westy ☢, 66 Splitty ☮, 73 Type 181 ✠

[Pierre G]

[Russ Wolfe]

If the bus is an automatic, you cannot tow it on its rear wheels, without removing the rear axles. If you tow it very far with the wheels on the ground, you will burn up the governor in the transmission because it will be getting no lubrication without the engine running.
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[VDubTech]

[Russ Wolfe]

[VDubTech]

[Glenn]

[VDubTech]

[silverside61]

does he even mention that this is an automatic? I believe the question was will his thing bar work on his bus. not, "can I get advice on how to tow a vehicle". he owns a tow bar, so chances are he is familiar with towing procedures.

[VDubTech]

[Glenn]

[silverside61]

no, it dosn't mean he knows how to use it, of course, but he is asking if it will fit, obviously, showing that he is intelligent enough to be thinking ahead that the dimensions of a bus beam may be different then that of a thing. which means to me, he is probably no dummy. and if it is just a reference for future searches, anyone would be safe to just remove the axles and not risk gov. damage on an automatic. regardless of speed. who's to say that they wouldnt get some damage anyway on a 30+ year old transmission. things break all the time. I believe russ wolfe's info was the safest, least risky advice given on the subject of automatic towing.

[VDubTech]

[FlowerPowered]

Thanks to all for the feedback. Yes we do drive quite slow around town in these parts, but even Montanans drive faster 30 MPH on the freeway, at least 45
I wonder if a two-wheeled Uhaul car dolly, with the rear wheels on the dolly, will be the answer. Ofcourse the other option is a full trailer. However because the engine is non-op, we will have to use a wench/come-along to get it loaded either way.
My concern about the full trailer is having the weight up high and the need to strap it down much better for going through any curvy mountain passes.
As far as the dolly, I've never towed any vehicle this way, much less "backwards", so I'm concerned about hauling it with the front-end "steered" wheels on the ground. Should I leave the steering locked or free?

[VDubTech]

DON'T TOW IT WITH THE REAR WHEELS ON THE DOLLY. Front wheels on the dolly, transmission in neutral, key on and steering unlocked.

Spend the extra $10 and get the full trailer. Are you saying then that it's an automatic Bus? Even if it were and you're set on getting the dolly and not the trailer spend 20 minutes and pull the axles and you'll be fine. You still haven't said what transmission is in the Bus or how far you need to tow it. Regardless, if you search the forum, towing has been covered a LOT. You should be able to find the answers to all of your questions.
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[Dondobe]

Just a thought. Do you or a friend have AAA??? I've had them tow dead ones for me before. Your friend or relitive can call and say they are with you and it will cover your vehicle!! They only ask whats wrong with it (it won't run!?!) and where do you want it towed to. If it is under 100 miles, it is free.

[silverside61]

what vdt said. go for the extra ten bucks on the full AT, auto transport. over the tow dolly. the tow dollys do not back up. it is like having another joint in your steering. you are much better having all the wheels off the ground. that is, if you have a heavy enough tow vehicle. uhaul will need your info on what you are towing, and what you are towing with. their computer will say if you can use it.

as far as AAA goes, i just recently looked into it, a few weeks ago, and their policy changed, unless you had the platinum membership i think it was. they only allowed 5 mile tow, to anywhere, or unlimited tow miles but only to the tow trucks home garage. might want to look into it if you go this route. needless to say, i did not buy the AAA membership

[FlowerPowered]

Wow, I apologize for the confusion my question has caused. I should explain that there has been a problem with my posts; someone has been deleting them. I have been discussing this offline with one of the moderators. I did try to provide all the proper info to the group (i.e. the bus is non-op, I'm going 800 miles, it's an automatic.) I believe the reason for the deletions were because I made my first post on the Type181 forum, a group which I am most active. Anyway, below are the posts which were deleted: